Mexico City , Mexico -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- What was Hurricane Karl weakened Friday to a tropical storm after making landfall , but the heavy rain it spawned could still cause mudslides and flash floods in the Mexican interior , forecasters said .

Karl was downgraded after coming ashore as a Category 3 hurricane about 10 miles -LRB- 15 kilometers -RRB- north of Veracruz , Mexico , CNN 's satellite and radar estimates showed .

The storm is forecast to weaken to a tropical depression later Friday or Saturday and dissipate over the mountains of Mexico on Sunday , the U.S. National Hurricane Center said Friday evening . It added the Mexican government has discontinued all coastal watches and warnings .

The storm delivered torrents of rain and fierce winds several hours before it hit land around 11:30 a.m. -LRB- 12:30 p.m. ET -RRB- . Photographs sent to CNN 's iReport by Ricardo Arcaraz , who lives in Veracruz , showed heavy rain and trees on top of power lines . He reported widespread outages .

Maximum sustained winds later weakened to around 70 mph -LRB- 115 kph -RRB- with higher gusts , according to the Hurricane Center . Karl , located about 75 miles -LRB- 115 kilometers -RRB- east of Puebla Mexico , was moving west-southwest at about 9 mph -LRB- 15 kph -RRB- , it said .

Satellite images and surface observations from Mexico suggest Karl is weakening rapidly as it passes through steep mountains , the Hurricane Center added .

High winds remain a threat , though forecasters said they will likely weaken too in the coming days .

The homes of at least 3,000 families in central Mexico were damaged , the state-run Notimex news agency reported .

`` Tropical storm force winds are occurring in a small area near the center . These winds will continue to spread inland along the track of the center tonight but should decrease rapidly as Karl weakens , '' the Hurricane Center said .

Potentially dangerous rain also was forecast .

`` Karl is expected to produce rainfall accumulations of 5 to 10 inches across portions of south-central Mexico , with isolated amounts of 15 inches possible in the mountains , '' the center said . `` These rains could cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides . ''

Within the past day or so , some 8 inches of rain has fallen in Veracruz , according to CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller .

Some local flooding was already reported , the Mexican Interior Ministry said .

Officials closed some roads and urged evacuations for large , low-lying areas in Veracruz .

Mexico 's National System for Civil Protection issued a red alert , the highest level , for central and southern Veracruz . An orange alert was in place for northern Veracruz and the states of Hidalgo , Tlaxcala and Puebla . A yellow alert was issued for the states of Tamaulipas , San Luis Potosi and Oaxaca .

Mexican President Felipe Calderon also sent a warning Friday morning on his Twitter account .

`` An alert for Hurricane Karl in the nation 's central states , '' it said , adding that Karl `` could convert to a Category 4 . It will enter through Veracruz around midday . ''

Texas could be spared any major problems because a storm surge occurs only near the landfall location , said CNN meteorologist Sean Morris .

Coastal flood advisories have been issued for south Texas , which means forecasters expect a small amount of coastal flooding but nothing serious , Morris said .

A larger threat to south Texas will come from several inches of rain that could cause flooding and mudslides . The area could see as much as 4 inches by Sunday , with isolated amounts of up to 6 inches in far southern Texas .

CNN meteorologists Brandon Miller and Mari Ramos contributed to this report .

@highlight

NEW : Karl is downgraded to a tropical storm

@highlight

NEW : It is weakening rapidly over the mountains of Mexico

@highlight

Hurricane Karl made landfall in Veracruz , Mexico

@highlight

Heavy rain could still cause problems